Admin I Tuesday, Sept 30, 2025
LAGOS, Nigeria, September 30, 2025 — The selection of a Nigerian astronaut has just become a radical act of democracy.
In a move that could redefine access to space exploration globally, Nigeria today launched an expanded democratic astronaut selection process that will allow its citizens to vote for their representative in space.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA) in partnership with Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), transforms the traditional astronaut pipeline—once limited to military pilots and elite scientists—into a wide-open competition driven by community engagement.
Nigeria joins India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Thailand in the groundbreaking program, which reserves five seats for citizen representatives from these nations on an upcoming Blue Origin New Shepard mission. A sixth seat is open for global competition.
A New Kind of Space Race
For decades, space travel has been a fiercely exclusive club. Of the roughly 800 people who have traveled to space since 1961, none have been a community-selected civilian astronaut from Nigeria, or indeed most developing nations, despite their collective population representing billions of global citizens.
”SERA Mission Control represents space exploration reimagined for social media users,” said Max Crown, CEO of TON Foundation.
“By launching on TON within Telegram, SERA transforms space travel from a distant concept into an interactive, community-driven experience.”
The application and selection process operates through SERA Mission Control, a mini-app built on the TON Blockchain within the Telegram messaging platform.
Candidates from partner nations will complete challenges, earn “SpaceDust” points, and compete for community support through a voting system designed for transparency.
The use of a blockchain-powered platform ensures voting integrity and accessibility to a vast global user base.
”A teacher in Abuja or a content creator in Lagos can now compete for Nigeria’s space seat through community engagement, not just academic credentials,” said Sam Hutchison, SERA co-founder.
Nigeria has been actively pursuing its space ambitions, focusing on satellite technology through NASRDA.
The country has also seen self-funded flights, such as that of businessman Chief Owolabi Salis, and symbolic missions like Nigerian scientist Dr. Temidayo Oniosun’s “Egusi mission.”
However, the SERA program marks a historic first: a community-selected civilian astronaut pathway for the nation.
”This partnership aligns with our vision of expanding Nigeria’s space presence beyond satellites to human spaceflight,” said Dr. Matthew Olumide Adepoju, Director General of NASRDA. “SERA’s democratic approach ensures Nigerian representation reflects our diverse population’s aspirations.”
This selection model is not without precedent. SERA previously validated the concept by sending Victor Hespanha, selected from their community, to become South America’s first civilian astronaut on a Blue Origin flight in 2022.
“After the success of SERA’s inaugural space flight in 2022, we’re scaling democratic space access to five nations simultaneously, plus a global seat,” said Joshua Skurla, SERA co-founder.
“Nigeria’s seat means someone from any background can represent their nation in space based on community choice.”
Inclusion as the Mission
The initiative extends beyond the selection process.
The program includes a Science Platform where communities can submit and vote on scientific experiments to be conducted in space, effectively creating decentralized research opportunities.
For Dr. Anne Agi, President of Learnspace Foundation, which facilitated the partnership, the mission is fundamentally about connection.
“We’re building bridges between communities, institutions, and industry to ensure Nigeria’s journey to human spaceflight is not only historic but inclusive and connected to the global movement for shared exploration,” she said.
The move by SERA, NASRDA, and the partner nations signals a clear shift: space exploration is no longer merely a government or corporate pursuit. It is becoming a platform for mass public participation, where digital democracy and community engagement determine who gets to see the world from above.
Applications are open immediately through the SERA Mission Control Telegram app. Selected astronauts will undergo standard Blue Origin safety training before their spaceflight missions.
